Fantasy Dungeon Builder's Harem

"Well?" Lana Fulmine asked, her lightning wings twitching. An eagerness filled the lightning sprite. "What has my number one fan come up with?"

"Yes, yes, yes, tell us, big bro," Garnet begged, the exuberant succubus bouncing up and down on her throne.

She can never sit still, thought Lana Fulmine. She would never survive making movies. So much tedious waiting.

"I'm going to parley with the dwarves," Leo said. He had an eager grin on his face. He slapped his hands together. "I've been meaning to do this, and now is the perfect time."

"Okay," said Mrs. Baldwin. "That's a wonderful idea, honey."

"You need an honor guard," Terra said.

"Yes!" gasped Garnet. "Let's use the arachne. They're so impressive."

"And scared of their own shadows," said Crystal. "Like the unicorns."

"We can be his escort," Morana said. "Dark Lord Leo, we shall surround you with beauty and deadliness. The dwarves will be enchanted by our charms and bow to your whim."

"I do have charms," Alizee said, smiling.

"No, no," Maya said. "We're too... monstrous."

"I'm not that monstrous," Morana gasped. "I'm just pale. But I was pale in life, too."

"And bleeding black shadows." Maya shook her head, her entire body rippling with water.

"The werewolves and werebears," Leo said, grinning. "In human form, they don't look like monsters at all."

Maya nodded. So did Nina and Hagane.

"It is a great plan," Lana Fulmine said, completely behind this.

"You need a rear guard," Hagane said. "In case the dwarves attack. A quick reaction force to come to your rescue on standby."

"Good point." Leo stared at the lightning sprite. The movie starlet blinked. "Lana, you'll lead them."

"Me?" Shock crackled through her body as lightning danced between the golden strands of her hair.

"Yes, you," I said. "You'll lead... the salamanders, sirens, and oreads. That should be perfect. If I run into trouble, you'll be there to come to my rescue. And, of course, Garnet can be with you. All of you can."

Lana Fulmine swallowed. She glanced at Leo. Her number one fan believed in her. She was the first companion he had chosen. He had picked her before his little sister and Maya. She had to be responsible. She wasn't that coked-out actress drifting through life.

She had importance here.

"I won't fail my number one fan," Lana Fulmine cooed.

"Of course not," Leo said. "I have some dungeon building to do, then we'll get this done." He glanced to the right. "Halia, Kassie, and Akiz, you'll come with us."

"Course, my Lord," Akiz said. "It'll be great. My people will want to crush me beneath two slabs of granite."

"But you're not brittle sandstone, are you?" Leo asked.

Akiz laughed.

Lana Fulmine smiled. This would go better than dealing with those adventurers. She had no idea what Leo planned on doing with those three dwarves. They were certainly adamant about not serving him. But so had Halia once upon a time.

A smile spread on the lightning sprite's lips as she remembered how defiant Halia had been in her prison. She had refused everything. It took Leo setting her free then rescuing the captured maidens of Astovin from that disgusting Jindag to win her over.

"Let's get to work," Leo said and marched towards the door

Halia Vobria hardly stumbled when she found herself standing in a different part of the dungeon.

"Bugger the earth with my big dick!" Akiz cursed, stumbling before catching his balance. "I hate when he does that."

"Poor dwarf," said Cheekha, one of the werewolves. She patted the top of his head. "Do you need me to rub your belly like a pup to make you feel better?"

"Oh, there's a part of me you can rub," he said with a big leer.

Halia rolled her eyes as Cheekha snarled, a rumbling growl. Her golden eyes blazed. She shook her head, her fall of dark-gray hair spilling down her back. "I'm Lord Leo's bitch, not yours."

"Worth a try," Akiz said. "Hard being surrounded by all you naked monster girls." He glanced to Bhaaloo. "Damn, you got tits as big as a dwarf on you."

"I know," the werebear said. "Sadly, you'll have to use your own hand. Our tits are not to be soiled on your dick."

"But I can stare at them," Akiz said. He shook his head. "Need to find me a nice, plump dwarf to take for wife with big, fat titties to fuck."

"I wish you well on that," Halia said, rolling her eyes. She put her hand on her pommel.

Her sword... vibrated.

She frowned at that. It always had a hum when she drew it, but now it was quivering even more. She glanced to her right. The tunnel led to the geode with the Light Glyph shining in it. Halia stroked her sword.

Is it resonating with the glyph?

More monster girls appeared in the room. Lana Fulmine, the rest of the companions, and the salamanders, oreads, and sirens. Akiz grinned at the newcomers. He ran his eyes over the gorgeous forms of the sirens. Fara leaned against the wall and pulled out her book. She wrote in it, her eyes distant, her long and pointed ears hardly twitching.

Halia opened her mouth to mention the sword vibrating to Fara when light flashed to the left. Lord Leo, Kassie, Vilkas, the prisoners, and the monster girls holding them captured appeared on the teleportation circle. He wore his gray robes, Kassie in her blue trimmed in red. She looked excited as she followed him to them.

"I've never done a parley before," Kassie said.

"This will be momentous," said Fara. She closed her book and slipped it and her phoenix quill into the pocket of her green dress. She went naked around the dungeon, but not today.

"Cheekha, your werewolves lead the way," Leo said. "Bhaaloo, you're behind us. Halia, on my right. Kassie, my left. Fara and Akiz behind me. Vilkas, be ready to bring out the prisoner on my command."

"Yes, my Lord," Vilkas said.

Halia nodded to her lord, her heart beating fast as she fell in at her lord's side. Her sword quivered in her scabbard. She glanced to the right once more, but then Leo was ordering them forward. It was time to forge an alliance with the dwarves enslaved by the Twins.

Time to spread Lord Leo's influence even further.

"Brilliant and revealing, let the light of Lord Shamash float!" Lord Leo chanted. A ball of light appeared before him to drive back the gloom of Led's inert dungeon.

"Lana Fulmine, wait here," I said as we neared the sealed-off exit of Led's dungeon. The dwarves had buried it. "The darkness should hide you."

"We'll be ready to go, big bro!" Garnet shouted. "Unless you want to have me out there with you."

"You're too inhuman," said Maya. "You have wings."

"Fine," huffed my little sister.

I moved towards the closed-off section, the ball of light floating with me. Illuminate was a useful spell. I didn't need lights in my own dungeon, but that ended in the remnants of Led's. If this worked. I would have my own exit out with the dwarves and have no more need of these last bits of his home.

I reached the stone barrier. My werewolves glanced back at me expectantly. The three stood tall and strong at the front, their bodies graceful and lean. I smiled at them and thrust my hand forward, gathering my magic.

"The hammer falls, let the strength of Lord Abzu smash!"

The Expert Level Earth spell struck the stone barrier and shattered it. Rubble exploded outward. Daylight flooded in through the smoke. I hoped no one was hurt on the other side. The tunnel groaned. Rocks crashed to the ground in a thunderous clatter.

"Go!" snarled Cheekha. She and her two sisters rushed forward.

I dismissed the Illuminate spell as the three werewolves vanished into the smoke. I followed after, Halia and Kassie at my sides, Akiz thumping behind me. Fara made not a sound. Nor did the werebears at the rear.

I passed through the smoke and stepped out of the rubble to find my three werewolves standing in a triangular formation staring out at the dwarven settlement that existed here. The dwarves were all pointing and gasping. Some were grabbing weapons and rushing forward. Others gathered children to take them to safety.

"You have no defensive spells on you, Lord Leo," whispered Halia. "I think you should change that."

"I don't," I said and chanted a different spell. "Voices carry, let the commanding tone of Lady Kittu carry!"

Magnify Voice.

I drew in a deep breath as the shouts of fear swelled. "DWARVES OF VORIANIL!"

My voice boomed through the air like I had the world's largest megaphone. But it didn't sound digitized or shrill. Just enhanced.

"I AM LEO, SLAYER OF THE TWINS WHO OPPRESSED YOU! I HAVE COME IN PEACE. I AM NOT HERE TO WAR UPON YOU. TO BRING ANY HARM TO YOU AND YOUR PEOPLE. I WISH TO SPEAK WITH YOUR ELDERS."

The dwarves rushing forward with their spears slowed to a stop. They stared at each other. I surveyed the area. They had pulled down all the statues of the twins. They had done what they could to erase any evidence of the dungeon builders. This appeared to be a farming community, built on the surface to grow grains in this mountain valley.

"I AM NOT YOUR ENEMY!" I continued. "I AM NOT YOUR CONQUEROR. I WANT ONLY TO SPEAK. PLEASE, DO NOT BE AFRAID. I AM NO BUTCHER. NO TYRANT. I AM NOT THOSE CRUEL TASKMASTERS WHO OPPRESSED YOU. I SET YOU FREE!"

"You didn't bring any monster girls that they would recognize," Halia said softly as the soldiers milled about in confusion.

"Yep," I answered after dismissing my Magnify Voice spell.

I watched the town as the minutes trickled by, then smiled as a group of dwarves emerged. They wore the same pants and work leathers as the others, but they had gold plaited through their beard or woven through the braids of their hair. Five of them. "Here come the elders."

They marched past their guards, hair gray or white, but they were unbowed by age. I walked forward with Halia and Akiz pacing me. Cheekha gave me a questioning glance. "Wait here to save my ass if I need it."

"You have too nice an ass not to save, Pack-lord," she purred in my mind, a wild smile on her lips.

I reached the elders who stared at me with hard, suspicious eyes. I could feel how much anger they had in them. They didn't like dungeon builders. They remembered what the Twins had done to them. I folded my arms behind my back, trying to be strong.

I wasn't a scared college kid any longer. I was Lord Leo.

"Thank you for speaking with me," I said. "I am honored to speak with the elders of the Vorianil Dwarves. I wish to be a friend to those who live in the mountains and to Great Kharabarnath, your mighty capital."

"You have one of our kind skulking with you," a white-bearded male said. "Is that Akiz. I knew your grandfather."

"Elder Kazzik," Akiz said. "I don't skulk. I stand proud as one of Lord Leo's retainers."

"Your grandfather would toss you in the scrap heap and melt you down for children's toys if he were still alive," Elder Kazzik growled.

Akiz shook his head. "I would stand proud before my grandfather, before my entire line. Lord Leo is not like the other builders. He saved you from the cave-in."

"He did allow our miners to return to us," one of the women said, her gray hair braided with golden threads. "Spared their lives after they had defiled his dungeon and attacked him."

"Why would I kill the victims of the Twins?" I demanded. "Why would I want to harm anyone who didn't desire to hurt me. They attacked me out of fear of that bastard Led. Their families held hostage. I am no monster. I am a man trying to be the best he can be. To live a good life and make this world better."

The elders studied me.

"Isn't that what you want?"

"Why are you here?" demanded Elder Kazzik. "Why do you speak these words?"

"I want to be your friend."

The other female elder spat. "Friend." She bristled, her brow wrinkling with fury. "Friend? I have lived a hundred and seventy years, and not once have dungeon builders desired friendship. I suffered beneath three separate tyrants. The Twins were just the newest, but hardly the last that wished to enslave us. The others at least were honest. They didn't slither towards us hissing friendship like we can't recognize a stone asp when we see one. Your words drip with poison! Conquer us, but don't sit there and lie to us!"

"Asp?" I shook my head. "Poison? I want an alliance. I want to make a world where dungeon builders are not a threat. Where we are friends to your people. I want to stop the bad ones. The monsters like the Twins. That's what I want. An alliance with your people against those who oppress and conquer."

"Right," she hissed.

"Today, five dwarves from here assaulted my dungeon," I said. "They invaded it to kill me. Sarkz, Vargi, Hagza, Garzan, and Fiztin."

"And what did you do to them?" demanded the angry elder. She grabbed a braid of her hair.

"Sadly, Garzan and Fiztin died, but I captured Sarkz, Vargi, and Hagza."

"And what is the price of their release?" Elder Kazzik demanded. "Gold? Our daughters? What?"

"Nothing," I said. "Vilkas, bring out the prisoners. Release them once you have joined us."

"Yes, Leo," Vilkas growled.

"I'm returning them to you as a sign of good faith," I said, releasing the Deafen spell on the three of them. "I am not your enemy. I hate having to defend myself against adventurers. I'm not the one they need to fight."

The woman stared at me. "You are serious? You shall release my granddaughter?"

"Yes," I said, pointing to the opening I had created. Vilkas appeared, made of crackling lightning. Then came the three dwarves, Sarkz held by Bakara and Havas, Vargi by Ci and Hela, and Hagza by Cikhala.

The prisoners had stoic looks like they expected to be beheaded before their people. Defiance burned in their eyes. Their pride. A great deal of respect swelled in my heart. I wanted an alliance with these dwarves. I wanted to show the people of this world that I was their ally. Their friend. I had to do it slowly. Painfully.

The three reached us. I nodded to my monster girls.

They released them.

"As a gesture of my friendship, I return them to you," I said. "I'll have their gear brought back soon."

Sarkz, Vargi, and Hagza looked stunned as they stumbled to the elders. Sarkz glanced at me, bewildered. I could tell this made no sense to him. He looked around as if he expected a trap. For my monster girls to rise out of the earth and massacre his people. He rubbed at his wrists as he moved behind the elders and stood firm in his rust-stained armor padding.

"They fought hard and well," I said. "They were worthy foes, but I would rather they be my friends. That you would be my friends."

"They brought them back," said the grandmother. "We should listen to them."

"Really, Nazinaka?" growled a gray-bearded elder. His arms bulged with muscles despite his age. "Just like that."

"Just like that," said Nazinaka. "Has any dungeon builder ever returned adventurers to their loved ones?"

"Only Lord Leo," Halia said. "He spared me when I attacked his dungeon. Then he released me to my people of Astovin. He showed me who he is when he risked his life to rescue maidens taken from my village by a despicable dungeon builder. He fights the dangerous ones. The ones who prey on this world. They fester and kill their fellow dungeon builders for power. They are mad dogs that must be put down!"

"I will put them down," I growled. "It's the only way to show this world that I am not their enemy."

"You want to help us against dungeon builders instead of enslaving us?" demanded the graybeard. "Tell me the truth. I am Verkanim, son of Kazig"

"If I wanted to enslave you, I would," I growled. "I destroyed the Twins. If you think I don't have the power to make you kneel, then you're fools. But I don't want that. No one should be forced to serve another. I want friendship. If you don't want my friendship, I'll leave. Today."

"Then leave," spat Verkanim.

"Wait," said Elder Kazzik. He eyed me. "You want to help us. There is one of your ilk to the north of here. Earth and Light."

I turned to Halia. "Two glyphs. Can you handle that?"

"Yes, Lord Leo," she said, her back straight. "With some help. Sarkz, Vargi, Hagza, how would you like to help us protect a threat to your people! Not some distant foe like Lord Leo, but one who is on your own people's doorstep!"

Sarkz swallowed.

"I know, there is not as much glory in this!" Halia spat. She drew her sword. It hummed. "But there are innocents in danger. Come with me! Help me kill this rat!"

Sarkz looked at her. "It was never about the glory."

"Prove it," she said. "Come with me, and let's exterminate this rat."

Sarkz nodded.

I let out a sigh.

I turned to Elder Kazzik. "Once the builder is dead, we'll speak again."

"He's new but cruel," said Elder Nazinaka. "A sadist. He lurked in the shadows of the Twins, hiding from them, but they are gone, and he is emboldened."

I nodded and turned back to my dungeon. This was going better than I could hope. I just prayed that Halia and her adventurers returned alive.

Fara smiled as she stood at the dungeon entrance. "This is good, Lord Leo. This will give you more power. More reach for your dungeon. We can find more of the geodes and their glyphs this way."

"It's not good, it's necessary," I growled and marched inside.

The wildhounds yipped excitedly around Halia and the three dwarves.

"You're not bringing Akiz?" Sarkz demanded, belting on his armor.

"No," said Halia. "I want him to keep training our recruits." He had not been happy, but Halia had made her choice. She would go along with Baaghi, the wildhounds, the quetzalcoatls, and the werewolves. "I want to see how you fight with monster girls."

"So backward," Vargi said, glancing at the werewolves. "Naked women."

Cheekha winked and blurred into a big, gray wolf.

"I've skinned more than one wolf," Vargi growled.

"Peace," Hagza said. The mage wore robes of gray with her brass medallion nestled between her large breasts. "We ignored this vermin on our doorstep for the prestige of killing a famous dungeon builder. This is what the elders want."

"Yes, yes, always a good rock hauler for your grandmother," Vargi said, stretching her back in her armor. "Fighting with monster girls. What is this world coming to."

"To be shamed by a dungeon builder for not protecting our people..." Sarkz spat. "We deserve this. We were fools who should be dead, Vargi. We have another chance to fight. So we fight. Let's cut the head off this stone asp and leave him to rot."

"Hela, lead the way," Halia ordered to the wildhounds.

"Yes, Lady Halia!" yipped Hela. The seven wildhounds bounded to the north, spreading out as they ran on all fours. Their tails wagged behind them.

In the sky, the quetzalcoatls soared, their rainbow wings flapping and green tails swishing.

Baaghi licked her lips. Halia wasn't sure why Leo had chosen the rakshasa for this mission, but the paladin was glad to have her help. Lady Sherida, shine your brilliance upon us as we go into battle. Give us the strength to march long and hard.

Light glowed from her and bathed her, the dwarves, Baaghi, and the werewolves.

"A paladin," said Sarkz.

"She's Anguin's daughter," Vargi said, rolling her eyes. "You have powdered chalk for brains. I could crack your head open and write a poem to your stupidity."

"Shame my head's made of gneiss." Sarkz slapped a steel helm over it. "Have to wear this so enemies won't shatter their weapons on it. Have to give them a chance."

Halia smiled. It had been a long time since she went on an adventure.

They headed north, leaving behind the dwarven settlement. Halia would not let Lord Leo down. The wildhounds would sniff out the dungeon, the precise location unknown to the dwarves. The snow-capped peaks of the Vorianil Mountains rose around them, graceful. Awe-inspiring. She marched with confidence, Lady Sherida's blessing animated her.

About an hour into the march, Vargi fell in at Halia's side, saying, "I was just wondering."

"What?" Halia asked.

"Does he have a big dick?" the female warrior asked. "Lord Leo?"

"What?" gasped Halia in shock, her cheeks warming.

"Is that why you serve him?" Vargi persisted. "Does he have a big dick? My Sarkz has a huge cock, hard as granite. Why do you think I put up with him."

"Yes, I do," said Sarkz. "My cock's so hard, I could fuck a hole in the mountain."

"So, does Lord Leo have a big dick?" Hagza asked from behind her.

"So big," Baaghi roared. "He makes me cum so hard when he fucks me."

"I love his cock," growled Chaandi, the werewolf padding at their side in her wolf form. The words came out strange but intelligible.

"Yes, he does," Halia said, her face on fire.

"So that's how he tamed you," Vargi said, nodding. "How you came to serve one of them."

"No, I told you. He captured me and released me." Halia smiled. "He showed me he was not just a good man, but one who cared about others. He has a vision. For thousands of years, the dungeon builders have come. We have failed and failed to stop them. A new way is needed. Leo sees it. I want to make his future a reality. That's it."

"That and his big dick." Vargi laughed, her voice rich and throaty.

Halia shrugged. "It's, um, an added bonus."

The paladin liked these dwarves. She felt comfortable with them. They were coarser than her last party, but the jokes told in the face of the shared discomfort of marching through rough terrain, of camping on hard dirt and shivering through the cold night, were refreshing. For two days, they traveled deeper into the mountains.

Then Hela reported, "We found a cave."
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